# Public pitches from accelerators

Twenty-eight pitches from YC, a16z speedrun, Techstars, Alliance, Colosseum's accelerator and
Entrepreneur First that anyone can open: decks, demo-day videos, application videos and launch
videos. Use it to see how a real pitch of your format and stage opens, proves and asks, then
write your own. Nothing here is copied: each row links to the original.

Rounds come from the linked announcement; "not found" means no public source was found, not
that no round happened. Video quotes come from auto-captions, which garble names and numbers.
"Third-party upload" marks a video posted by someone other than the company or the program.

## What repeats across them

1. **Traction in the first or second sentence, before the team.** Proof, GitLab, Contrario.
2. **The YC demo-day pitch shrank.** 2013 to 2018 pitches run 2 to 3 minutes (DoorDash 2:40);
   the W24 and W25 uploads run about a minute (Artisan 55 s, Contrario 63 s, sync. 71 s).
   Speedrun and Colosseum run about 2 minutes; Techstars runs 3 to 8, often opened by a mentor or
   a customer.
3. **Application videos are the team and how they found the problem, with almost no product.**
   Embark, DoorDash.
4. **Hardware proves with units sold or a physical demo.** Unruggable, Taya, DeCharge, Innate.
5. **An "X for Y" analogy as the anchor.** Coinbase, LZero, Fabric.
6. **Founder-market fit told in the first person.** Brumby, Ramp Robotics.
7. **The ask depends on the program.** Three of the eight Colosseum and Techstars pitches here
   name an amount (Unruggable, DeCharge, LZero). None of the six YC demo-day pitches opened names
   one: the older ones end with "come find us", the one-minute ones with the company name.
8. **The one seed deck opened (Coinbase) is mostly pictures:** 12 slides, two traction charts, no
   team, financials or ask.

## The pitches

"Stage" is the stage at the time of the pitch. The round column gives the round the pitch raised
or the next one found, with its source.

| Company | Program | Artifact | Stage | Round (source) | Pitch | What it teaches |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coinbase | YC S12 | seed deck, 12 slides, PDF on a third-party host | seed | $600K seed, Sep 2012; Series A $5M led by Union Square Ventures, May 2013 ([YC blog](https://www.ycombinator.com/blog/coinbase-yc-s12-raises-5m-from-union-square-ventures-largest-financing-round-yet-for-a-bitcoin-startup/)) | [PDF](https://media.genppt.com/pitch-decks/coinbase/coinbase-pitch-deck-2012.pdf) | Twelve slides, mostly visual, two traction charts, no team, financials or ask. Positions by analogy: "Coinbase : Bitcoin" over "iTunes : MP3". |
| Airbnb (AirBed&Breakfast) | YC W09 | seed deck, third-party upload, not opened | seed | $600K seed led by Sequoia, Apr 2009, per Brian Chesky as quoted on [Garry Tan's blog](https://blog.garrytan.com/how-much-money-did-airbnb-raise-what-is-the-c) (reported) | [SlideShare](https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/airbnb-original-pitch-deck/50828878) | Not opened: the SlideShare upload needs a login. Several public "Airbnb deck" PDFs are later reproductions with placeholder text, so trace a copy before quoting it. |
| DoorDash | YC S13 | demo day video, 2:40 | seed | Series A $17.3M led by Sequoia, May 2014 ([TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/22/doordash-17-3m-sequoia)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YNAOXokK--o) | What it does in one line, why the obvious alternative fails locally, then the larger vision ("the FedEx of today"). Closes with an invitation to talk, no amount. YC republished it as a historical demo-day pitch. |
| DoorDash (as Palo Alto Delivery) | YC S13 | application video | pre-seed | Series A $17.3M led by Sequoia, May 2014 ([TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2014/05/22/doordash-17-3m-sequoia)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rzlr2tNSl0U) | Team first, then how they found the problem (100+ interviews with owners), then the first month: 150+ paying customers and $10K in sales. YC published it as an accepted application. |
| Embark Trucks (as Varden Labs) | YC W16 | application video | pre-seed | Series A $15M led by Data Collective, Jul 2017 ([TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/18/self-driving-truck-startup-embark-raises-15m-partners-with-peterbilt/)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MdVFF5HU0g) | Almost only credentials plus a working prototype on camera; no market, no business model. YC published it as an accepted application. |
| GitLab | YC W15 | demo day video | seed | Seed Jul 2015, amount not stated; Series A $4M from Khosla Ventures, Sep 2015 ([GitLab blog](https://about.gitlab.com/blog/gitlab-announces-4m-series-a-funding-from-khosla-ventures/)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HmrDjvv_ENQ) | Usage and paying-customer logos in the first breath (100,000+ organizations), then one structural reason it beats the incumbent: outside contributors versus an employee headcount. |
| Proof (useproof) | YC W18 | demo day video | seed | not found | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpaTJVbt_tg) | Opens with bootstrapped revenue growth before explaining the mechanism, then paying customers and their reported lift; repeats the number in the close. |
| Artisan | YC W24 | application video | pre-seed | $11.5M seed, Sep 2024 ([Artisan blog](https://www.artisan.co/blog/artisan-seed-round)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LlYe-he1knQ) | Each founder gives one personal credential, then the product in a sentence. Compare with the same company's demo-day pitch in the next row. |
| Artisan | YC W24 | demo day video, 55 s | seed | $11.5M seed, Sep 2024 ([Artisan blog](https://www.artisan.co/blog/artisan-seed-round)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=96du63Skzzs) | Under a minute: the vision, the starting wedge (outbound sales), the next verticals, then users and ARR. Ends on the company name. |
| sync. (Sync Labs) | YC W24 | demo day video, 71 s, third-party upload | seed | $5.5M seed led by GV, Aug 2024 ([sync. blog](https://sync.so/blog/sync-announces-5-5m-seed-round-to-make-video-content-creation-less-camera-dependent-using-ai)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsFEKRGjq_M) | Three months of revenue growth as the proof, and the founders' open-source model (GitHub stars) as the credential tied to the problem. |
| Contrario | YC W25 | demo day video, 63 s | seed | $2.3M seed led by Nexus Venture Partners, reported May 2026 ([Pulse 2.0](https://pulse2.com/contrario-2-3-million-funding/)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bkiMTdTIiY) | Launch date and monthly revenue in the first two sentences, then why the buyer pays, then the data asset the business builds next. |
| Innate | YC F24 | launch video | pre-seed | not found | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxRLFx4JjcQ) | About 80% of the video is the robot doing the task. The claim (teach a new skill in under 30 minutes) is shown, not argued. |
| Brumby (formerly GrazeMate) | YC W26 | launch video | pre-seed | $1.2M pre-seed, Jan 2026, reported ([Runtime Wire](https://runtimewire.com/article/startup-spotlight-brumby-autonomous-cattle-mustering-drones)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIrM29ziVNU) | Founder-market fit in the first sentence (grew up on a cattle ranch), then the status quo's cost in hours, dollars and risk. |
| Lil Snack | a16z Games Speedrun | demo day video | seed | $3.1M including a16z Games Speedrun, Apr 2024 ([PocketGamer.biz](https://www.pocketgamer.biz/lil-snack-lands-3-million-in-funding-for-ai-gaming-tools/)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dxyLgNpmgJ4) | Opens with a borrowed thesis and a trend across category leaders before the product; the why-now is that AI makes a new game every day feasible. |
| Nativ | a16z speedrun SR004 | demo day video | seed | not found | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E-zKcKbDtKc) | Opens on a concrete contrast (three markets, three cultures), then founder credentials with numbers. Named among the SR004 standouts by [Guillermo Flor](https://www.productmarketfit.tech/p/speedrun-demo-day-the-6-things-best). |
| Logical Health | a16z speedrun SR005 | demo day video | seed | not found | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uaOiBTedU6s) | A large claim in the first sentence, who loses today, a research-lab spin-out with named industry advisers, and the insight stated as its own labelled beat. |
| Taya | a16z speedrun SR005 | demo day video | seed | $5M seed led by MaC Venture Capital and Female Founders Fund, Mar 2026 ([TechCrunch](https://techcrunch.com/2026/03/11/former-apple-engineer-raises-5m-for-a-note-taking-pendant-that-only-records-your-voice/)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XJSBaToSaQY) | Hardware proof as units sold on day one with no ads; credentials are the specific products the founders built before. Speedrun interviewed the founder on her prep ([post](https://speedrun.substack.com/p/58-founders-2-minutes-to-pitch-scenes)). |
| LZero (now Bloctopus) | Techstars, Dec 2024 | demo day video | pre-seed | $1M pre-seed led by Hivemind Capital, Mar 2025 ([Future Worlds](https://futureworlds.com/bloctopus-lzero-raise-1m-pre-seed/)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8jkok6cd254) | Origin story from the founder's previous team, an "X for Y" anchor ("Firebase for web3"), and an explicit ask that says how much is already committed. |
| SeafoodAI | Techstars Water Tech, Fall 2024 | demo day video | pre-seed | Next: strategic investment from NEC X, amount undisclosed, Apr 2025 ([SVDaily](https://svdaily.com/2025/04/11/seafoodai-receives-investment-from-nec-x/)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AlBEv3AdPo4) | Opens with a personal anecdote used as an analogy for the industry, then the industry's annual loss in dollars. |
| sees.ai | Techstars London 2019 | demo day video | seed | Later: £3.65M round, Oct 2025 ([sUAS News](https://www.suasnews.com/2025/10/sees-ai-secures-3-65m-to-accelerate-world-first-centralised-autonomous-drone-operations-for-critical-national-infrastructure/)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WxS-m_ti73g) | A named customer opens the pitch on stage before the founder speaks. |
| Ramp Robotics | Techstars Boulder 2019 | demo day video | seed | not found | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=94-YXgj5zRQ) | A mentor introduces the team; the founder's own injury is the founder-market fit, and the last line calls back to the opening one. |
| Cloud9 | Alliance ALL18 | launch video | pre-seed | $1M raised, self-reported in the video | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHUamIPsIO0) | A launch video, not an investor pitch: rhetorical-question opening, then a walkthrough by use case. The stablecoin rail appears after the user benefit. |
| Freeport Markets | Alliance ALL16 | launch video | pre-seed | not found | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYV_fySO4bc) | Opens on an us-versus-them frame (retail versus quant firms) and earns it with the founder's credential: trading for quant firms. |
| MeshMap | Colosseum Accelerator, Cohort 1 | demo day video | seed | $4M including a16z CSX and Colosseum, Sep 2024 ([ChainCatcher](https://www.chaincatcher.com/en/article/2145114)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDIZ-P0la3c&t=436) | The founder's prior exit as the credential, then the why-now (AR glasses) and the missing infrastructure layer. |
| DeCharge | Colosseum Accelerator, Cohort 1 | demo day video | seed | $2.5M seed led by Lemniscap, Mar 2025 ([Chainwire](https://chainwire.org/2025/03/27/decharge-raises-2-5m-to-deliver-ai-powered-energy-network-for-electric-vehicles/)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GDIZ-P0la3c&t=1206) | Deployed hardware and recurring use as the proof, an explicit "multi-million" seed ask; crypto comes late, as the capital layer. |
| Reflect Money | Colosseum Accelerator, Cohort 2 | demo day video | seed | $3.75M seed led by a16z crypto CSX, Sep 2025 ([PANews](https://panews.io/articles/04af1ee0-2a12-491a-9ebe-d39cc94bf7b0)) | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7kiQQ7iHK04&t=1910) | A live mainnet transaction on screen, narrated while it runs, carries the proof. |
| Unruggable | Colosseum Accelerator, Cohort 4 | demo day video | seed | not found | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d6DylaQ0Gcg&t=560) | A hardware wallet: units sold (1,000+) against a small marketing spend ($5K), then an explicit $2M seed ask. |
| Fabric | Entrepreneur First SF | demo day video | pre-seed | not found | [video](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8kWAPDkSzY) | The first customer's annual contract and the pipeline in dollars come early; an "open banking moment" analogy frames the why-now. |

## Where more of these live, and what is closed

- [YC Launches](https://www.ycombinator.com/launches) pages carry a launch video with batch and
  date. YC's own channel publishes only a few curated pitches; most YC demo-day clips online are
  company or third-party uploads.
- Colosseum's accelerator demo days (Cohorts 1 to 4) are on YouTube in full, about 2 minutes per
  team; the rows above link the exact timestamp.
- Techstars posts one video per company for some programs and full demo-day recordings for
  others.
- Closed or not found: SlideShare and Scribd need a login to download (the original Airbnb and
  Dropbox uploads); recent YC seed decks on aggregator sites are view-only previews; Alliance and
  a16z speedrun demo days have no public recording beyond founder uploads; no complete official
  YC demo day was found.

Gaps: one deck opened out of 28 entries; 9 of 28 have no sourced round (8 not found, 1 self-reported); only six have a
source saying that this specific pitch was good. No entries from South Park Commons, Neo or Pear.